Tens of thousands trek high into the mountains to visit Amarnath cave

Hindu pilgrims climb a hill to the Amarnath cave, near Baltal, India, June 25.

Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

Soldiers from India's Border Security Force (BSF) keep watch as Hindu pilgrims make their way to the holy cave of Lord Shiva, June 25.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

A Hindu devotee is carried by porters during her pilgrimage from Baltal Base Camp to the holy Amarnath Cave Shrine, in Baltal on June 25.

Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

Hindu pilgrims travel by horseback and by foot, beside a glacier-fed stream during their annual pilgrimage to holy cave of Lord Shiva, in Pishutop, 114 km (71 miles) southeast of Srinagar June 25.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims trek through treacherous mountains in Kashmir, along icy streams, glacier-fed lakes and frozen passes, to reach the Amarnath cave, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,467 feet). There, devotees worship an ice an icy stalagmite representing Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.